WHAT WE'RE DRINKING: Thalassitis @ Gaia Estate Santorini, Greece

BY BEDALES' WINE DIRECTOR, MARIO SPOSITO

Simply drinking this wine better defines the concept of terroir more than any written explanation could. It clearly expresses a sense of place with a unique and unmistakable voice. It speaks of the Mediterranean Sea, of volcanic rocks and ashes and of vine roots that are centuries old.

Let’s get our facts down: we are in Santorini, an island of the Aegean Sea; Assyrtiko is the grape; and Gaia Estate, one of the pioneers of the modern Greek wine revolution, is the producer.

The Famous "Basket Vines" of the greek island, santorini

I had the luck of being their guest last summer during a trade trip, and we were hosted by the winemaker Yiannis Paraskevopoulos and his team.

At that time I was already familiar with another of their award-winning wines, and the pleasant discovery of Thalassitis was the icing on the cake of a truly special day. We circumnavigated the island on a motorboat… it doesn’t get much better than that.

Thalassitis means ‘from the sea’, a name given to the wine for its distinctive salinity, besides the obvious origin.